Where James Joyce Drank Espresso in Trieste

Literary pilgrims often wonder: where did James Joyce drink his coffee while writing parts of Ulysses? The answer isn’t Dublin or Paris—but Trieste, a historic port city where espresso culture took root alongside some of the 20th century’s greatest writers.

Joyce lived in Trieste for over a decade starting in 1904, and it was here he began drafting Ulysses. He frequented local cafés such as San Marco and Tommaseo, drank espresso precursors, and later secured Ulysses’ publication at Paris’s Café Les Deux Magots—just days after returning from Trieste in 1920.

Trieste: The Forgotten Cradle of Espresso

Though espresso is now globally associated with Italy, its technological and cultural foundations were significantly shaped in Trieste. In 1935, Francesco Illy invented the Illetta, the first air-pressure espresso machine, in Trieste. This innovation laid the groundwork for the modern espresso and led to the foundation of the Illy coffee empire, still headquartered in the city today.

While traditional espresso as we know it wasn’t yet widespread during Joyce’s early years in Trieste (pre-1910), the city’s coffee scene was already a melting pot. The port city had long been a crossroads of cultures—Austrian, Hungarian, Turkish, and Italian—all influencing local coffee preparation.

Joyce’s Trieste: Café Life and Literary Work

Joyce arrived in Trieste in 1904 with his partner Nora Barnacle and remained for over 14 years. During this period, he completed Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and drafted much of Ulysses. Local cafés were his workspace, newspaper hub, and social venue.

Records show Joyce spent modest amounts on coffee—around 0.15 lire per cup in Rome, likely similar in Trieste—though he often complained about prices. More frequently, he noted expenses for wine, but coffee was essential for reading papers and meeting students for language lessons. He wrote home about working in cafés until the evening, even when his trousers wore thin.

Among the cafés he frequented:

• San Marco: Known for its Venetian-style lion emblem and intellectual gatherings, described as a “Noah’s Ark” by Italo Calvino’s contemporary, Claudio Magris.
• Tommaseo: A grand café near the opera house, once visited by Gustav Mahler and Arturo Toscanini.
• Tergeste, Stella Polare, and Degli Specchi: Other long-standing spots that retained a bourgeois charm into the 21st century.

Joyce wrote in a 1906 letter from Rome that he visited Greek cafés where literary greats like Byron and Shaw had dined. Back in Trieste, he treated local cafés with similar reverence—as places of both sustenance and inspiration.

Coffee Culture in Trieste: A Crossroads of Traditions

Trieste’s coffee traditions reflect its layered history. Under Austro-Hungarian rule for centuries, the city adopted Viennese-style coffee practices, including the Viennese coffee—a layered drink with cream, syrup, and coffee. Turkish coffee, spiced with cloves and cardamom and unfiltered (like modern espresso crema), was also common.

The city’s coffee scene blended these influences with emerging Italian preferences. By the 1930s, Trieste had over a hundred cafés. Many, like San Marco, still retained their old-world charm well into modern times. As writer Jan Morris noted, these cafés preserved a distinct bourgeois elegance through the 20th century.

The Illy family played a transformative role. Francesco Illy, of Hungarian descent, settled in Trieste after World War I. His son Ernesto established a coffee research lab, and the family’s third generation included Riccardo Illy, who became mayor of Trieste. Their innovations helped shape modern espresso and built the Illy brand, which remains synonymous with quality coffee worldwide.

Espresso and Ulysses: Joyce’s Final Link to Trieste

In 1919, Joyce returned briefly to Trieste before moving permanently to Paris in 1920. Just three days after arriving in Paris, he met Sylvia Beach of Shakespeare and Company at the Café Les Deux Magots, where arrangements for publishing Ulysses were made.

Joyce’s letters reveal little about the Parisian coffee he drank, though earlier he joked about French coffee knocking him out of his chair from laughter. By 1922, Ulysses was published on his 40th birthday. He later spent his final years in Zurich, frequenting the Odeon and Pfauen cafés—both known for their literary patronage.

Though there’s no record of Joyce trying the espresso developed by Illy in Trieste after its invention in 1935, he maintained correspondence with the city and often reflected nostalgically on his Trieste years. The 16th of June, the date he noted in a postcard from Trieste as the start of Ulysses, became the book’s iconic setting.

Joyce once described the city as having “swallowed my liver,” possibly referencing both its physical toll and the emotional weight of his time there. For a man who equated coffee with productivity and creativity, Trieste offered both in abundance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did James Joyce drink modern espresso in Trieste?

No, Joyce lived in Trieste primarily before 1910, when modern espresso as we know it had not yet been fully developed. However, he was in Trieste again briefly in 1919–1920, just before the commercial introduction of the espresso machine invented by Francesco Illy in 1935. He likely drank early forms of pressure-brewed coffee that preceded espresso.

What cafés in Trieste did James Joyce visit?

Joyce frequented several historic Trieste cafés, including San Marco, Tommaseo, Tergeste, Stella Polare, and Degli Specchi. San Marco was known for its intellectual gatherings, while Tommaseo was near the opera house and hosted famous musicians.

When was espresso actually invented?

The modern espresso, as brewed by machines using high pressure to produce a concentrated shot with crema, was not fully realized until the 1930s. Francesco Illy invented the Illetta, an air-pressure based espresso machine, in Trieste in 1935, laying groundwork for the modern espresso.

What coffee did Joyce drink while writing Ulysses?

While in Trieste during the early 1900s, Joyce likely drank traditional Ottoman-style or Viennese-influenced coffee, as true espresso had not yet become standard. Later, after espresso technology developed, he may have encountered it, but there is no direct record of him drinking Illy’s espresso.

Was Trieste part of Italy when Joyce lived there?

Trieste was under Austro-Hungarian control for much of Joyce’s time there (from 1904 until 1918). It officially became part of Italy after World War I, in 1918, during Joyce’s continued residence. Joyce referred to it as Austrian in his early letters from the city.

Where was Ulysses first published?

Ulysses was first published on February 2, 1922, in Paris, just days after James Joyce returned from Trieste. The arrangements were made at the Café Les Deux Magots, where he met publisher Sylvia Beach.

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